I know that TPMS is a good thing for folks who rely on idiot lights, but for those who actually check their tire pressure regularly, it is a costly nuisance.

I have a 2007 2WD SCrew XLT, and I'd like to get a set of street wheels that I can swap with my jobsite tires every 3 months or so without having to swap the TPMS sensors or buying a duplicate set of bands and sensors for $300 or $400.

I heard that if you have "direct" or "active" TPMS sensors (the older, band-mounted style) that only read tire pressure, you can ductape all 4 sensors to inside the rim of your pressurized spare and you are golden. Change tires all you want, the computer is reading the sensors in the spare and they always match.

I understand that if you have "indirect" or "passive" sensors (the newer, stem-mounted style) that they measure rate of tire rotation, and interpret a tire that is going flat as a smaller tire because it rotates faster. As such, the sensors sitting still in the spare offer no data to interpret and in turn set off the TPMS signal.

Has anyone tried this? Do the band-mounted sensors only measure tire pressure? I really don't want to buy a second set of bands and sensors. Any knowledgeable feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

No it does not work. The sensors and system know between parked and moving. It sends different signals whether moving or not. If all sensors are in the spare, after about 20 miles it will set a system fault. It will reset after being parked for a while, but set the fault again the next time you have traveled about 20 miles.
If you want a extra set of tires, there are aftermarkets that will work with the system and they are the valve stem type. You will need a reset tool to go between the 2 sets. The AM sensors and valve stems to hold them should cost no where near $300. More likely around $150.

 

Thanks for the quick return Kingfish. I'll look into the aftermarket. If I have to do it, $150 is better than $300 for sure. Is the TPMS light the only penalty I pay if I simply mount my tires and run them without sensors? In the old days, dash bulbs that were forever lit eventually deformed or discolored the dask face from the heat of the lamp. I have heard that the bulbs in my dash are LEDs soldered directly to a circuit board, so they cannot be removed. Fortunately, I hear LEDs do not burn hot and as such won't hurt the dash.

 

I have a full set of bands and sensors. I was about to put them on here for sale. Send me a pm with your email.

Oh and I did a lot of reading, there's no tricking the system.

 

The light is the only problem. No bells etc other than the light. On mine, I had no problem with any warping when the light was on. Mine was an 07 also.

 

On my 08 the message center tells you there's a fault with a chime and message every 20 minutes or miles. The light flashes for a few after that too

 

Thanks for the feedback guys. I picked up a set of wheels from a 2012 FX4 with slightly used Wranglers SRAs and plan to throw them on the truck this weekend. I'm going to mount them without bands and TPMS sensors and see what happens. If it's just the low pressure light I'll be leaving it as is. If I get a chime every 20 miles/minutes I'll yank em' and get some sensors. The chime would simply aggravate me.

 

It will take a drive of about 20 miles while speeds are over 25mph, assuming that the old sensors are near the vehicle when you start. Then the light should flash 75 times signaling a system fault. You should not get a chime.

 

Will the light flash 75 times every time I start the truck and drive for more than 20 miles at speed, or does it only do it the first time?

 

Every time. Still have a whole set of bands and sensors. Pm me if it gets to that point.

 

Correct, every time. On my 07, I lived with it for a couple of years. After the first couple of times, I never really noticed it. And that was every work day, to and from work.

 

So here's how it all went down. I mounted the street wheels and tires (factory wheels and Wrangler SRAs from a 2012 FX4) without sensors onto my 2007 2WD SCrew. I stacked the jobsite tires and wheels I took off the truck in the front corner of my garage (E-rated BFG ATs on powder-coated factory steel spare tire rims with the original sensors still mounted). When I start the truck in the garage the truck is reading the sensors from the jobsite tires. The tire pressure light comes on for a few moments then goes out, the same as if the jobsite tires were still mounted on the truck. I live 8 miles from my job. For the entire duration of my daily round trip the light does not come on at all. However, if I drive approx. 20 - 22 miles, the light comes on (I don't recall any flashing) and stays on until I shut the truck off. If I then park the truck in the garage, the truck reads the sensors in the jobsite tires and resets the system, so next time I start the truck I have another 20 or so miles of light-free driving. Now, if I do not park in the garage and reset the system, next time I start the truck the TPMS light flashes repeatedly for a short period of time (probably 75 times as suggested by Kingfish in an earlier post) then stops flashing and remains lit for the remainder of the trip. The flashing light on start-up will continue until the truck is returned to the garage for a TPMS reset with the stacked jobsite tires. There was no chime at any time. Interesting though, the illuminated amber TPMS warning light no longer bothers me when it is lit. Seems I've gotten used to it.

Hypothosis: If I were to take the sensors out of the stacked jobsite tires and place them in my glovebox, I should be able to completely eliminate the TPMS warning light on start up, and get warning-light-free driving for most of the week no matter if I am driving on the street tires or the ATs. The only time I would be bothered would be on the weekends or when I may actually put more that 20 or so miles on the truck on a weekday. I'll try this scenario out when I get ambitious.

 

Unfortunately that will not work as the sensors are no longer under pressure. You will get the light due to low pressure. Only if you have the sensors in a pressurized container in the vehicle will you be "mostly" warning light free.

 

Thanks Kingfish. You just saved me some time and energy, both of which are in short supply these days. I guess I'm done until some tires wear out.